Hiei the Babysitter
by TouchOfViolet
Summary: Yusuke and Keiko are going on a romantic getaway, and they need someone to look after their four year old son while they are gone. Who will they ask to babysit? Who indeed.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: Oooh, Santa!

**A/N**: This is a continuation of another story of mine, Sentimental Titles. Not that it is imperative to this story's plot (because it isn't exactly a sequel, per say) but I really like that story of mine! I wrote it *counts* four years ago, so, yeah, it's old. But it's cute.(/shameless plug). Just keep in mind that this story continues on after Yusuke and Keiko have had a son together.

Forgive any unintentional OOC-ness. It's been a while.

Thank you Jordan for the beta! I don't know why you put up with me, but I'm so happy you do.

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**Hiei the Babysitter**

by Touch of Violet

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Prologue

Hiei couldn't believe the situation he had gotten himself into. They had tricked him. The lousy idiots - the conniving Spirit Detective, his overly emotional wife – they had tricked him! They had lured him to their home with the promise of all the sweets he could eat, and then they had come completely out of left wing with a request so absolutely surprising it was hard to make his tongue move.

"It's only for three days – two nights!" Yusuke said, a sheepish smile on his face. "It won't be that bad. Keiichi is a really good kid. And he really likes you. So, it should be a snap!" He emphasized his point by snapping his fingers. They were out on the Urameshi's front porch: Hiei was sitting on the railing, while Yusuke and Keiko were sitting on a bench.

Hiei glared, upset with the spirit detective's general existence. There was no question that Keiichi liked Hiei; the four year old boy was so enamored with the fire demon that while they were in the same room as each other, Hiei had a constant shadow mimicking his every action and every word. It was beyond annoying. It was incredibly frustrating. And it was almost embarrassing.

Not that Hiei was so easily embarrassed. Not at all. But for someone of less stature than Hiei, they would find the constant companionship and hero worship of a little boy in front of the people that they associate with embarrassing. Hiei was above that, of course, and only found it annoying and frustrating.

Keiichi had been put to bed after dinner, crying when he realized that meant saying goodbye to his "Uncle Hiei." He had demanded that the fire demon be the one to do the actual "tucking in" and then had actually kissed the demon's cheek.

The nerve of that little human child! He could still feel the child's saliva on his cheek. And the boy's parents would dare ask him to do that again, and what's more, by himself? Were they completely insane?

Keiko shifted in her seat and gave the demon a small smile. "I know this isn't your cup of tea, Hiei, and we would normally ask Yukina and Kuwabara." She tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear while Hiei tensed at her words. "But I think it would be too much stress on them. Their daughters are only two years old and such a handful, and Yukina's so pregnant she looks like she's about to pop." She chuckled. "So … well, we – we thought of you."

Hiei glared at the human girl. That had been a low blow. She knew it was a low blow, she knew it, and she used it against him anyway.

Well, she was nothing if not clever; he'd give the girl that.

"We'll pay you for your trouble," Yusuke told him. "Plus, you got the full roam of our house. You can eat anything we have in the fridge, and we'll even leave money for you and Keiichi for eating out. All you gotta do is look after the little runt. You know, _protect him_ while we're gone."

Yusuke and Hiei shared a momentary look. Hiei grunted. Now the spirit detective was the one dealing out the low blows.

"You will owe me," Hiei said, pointedly looking at Yusuke. "Whatever I say, whenever I say – you have to do whatever it is I want."

Yusuke and Keiko exchanged glances. Keiko sighed and shrugged. "I really _was_ looking forward to this vacation, honey."

Yusuke nodded and grinned at the fire demon. He rose to his feet and offered a hand. Hesitantly, Hiei shook it. "You got yourself a deal."


	2. Friday

**Disclaimer**: Keiichi is mine. However "adorable, oblivious, and loud" my beta thinks he may be, he is still mine. Suckers. ;p Ask and you can borrow, I suppose, considering I'm borrowing the other characters from YT.

Thank you Jordan for beta-ing and keeping me from making any embarrassing Freudian slips involving Hiei and his, eh, _sword_.

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Chapter One

_Day One - Friday_

Agreeing to watch the child had been a mistake. Hiei could admit when he made mistakes – not that he made them very often, but on the rare occasion that he did, he would admit it. He would admit it and ask for help.

Perhaps "ask" was pushing it, a little.

But he would get help, and however he managed to get that help really wasn't the important issue.

He shifted his hold on the small child and tried to get a better look into Kurama's window. The red-head was slowly eating a bowl of cereal, his nose in a newspaper. If he knew that the fire-demon and the spirit detective's son were high up in a tree spying on him, he gave no indication.

"Why don't we just knock on Uncle Rama's door?" Keiichi asked, pushing his black hair out of his chocolate brown eyes.

Hiei glared down at the little boy in his arms; however, the little boy wasn't looking up at him. "Hn." Hiei finally said, and Keiichi sighed loudly.

"I'm _bored_." Keiichi whined.

Hiei shifted his hold on the boy, pulling him tighter to his chest and making the boy squeak in surprise. He held onto him tighter than necessary, hoping the force would keep him quiet. Keiichi pushed the hair off his face again and Hiei noticed for the first time how much the young child looked like the spirit detective.

"We really should just knock," the boy mumbled under his breath.

Hiei also noticed for the first time how the boy was as dimwitted as the spirit detective as well.

After a few moments of sitting in awkward silence, Kurama finally left his house. Hiei made sure he had a good hold on the boy before jumping down from the tree and landing before the fox demon.

Kurama tilted his head to the side in mild surprise and curiosity. "Hello," he greeted calmly.

Keiichi wiggled out of Hiei's arms. "Uncle Rama!" He exclaimed, throwing himself into the red-head's legs. Kurama smiled and bent down, picking Keiichi up in his arms.

"Why, hello there, Keiichi. What are you and Uncle Hiei doing in my yard?" The question was spoken to Keiichi, but was clearly directed at the fire demon.

Said fire demon narrowed his eyes and did not answer.

"Uncle Hiei is babysitting me!" Keiichi explained from the fox's arms. "For the whole weekend!"

Kurama looked at Hiei in surprise. "Really? The whole weekend?"

"Unfortunately," Hiei muttered.

Keiichi didn't hear him; he nodded, a giant smile on his face. "Yep! The whole weekend! Momma and Papa are on _vacation_. But, I don't mind 'cause I get to be with Uncle Hiei. And now you, Uncle Rama! Are you going to spend the day with us?"

Kurama and Hiei exchanged glances. "It would appear so, Keiichi," the red head told the little boy.

Keiichi let out a loud, happy scream.

"What would you like to do, Keiichi?" Kurama asked the little boy, shifting his hold so the boy could sit on his hip, and walking past Hiei to the road. Hiei reluctantly tagged behind.

"Lirary!" Keiichi said. "I wanna go to the lirary."

"The _library_?" Kurama asked, both verifying the statement and correcting the way the boy said the word.

Keiichi nodded. "Momma always reads me a book, every night. And I don't have any new ones for the weekend."

Kurama looked over his shoulder at his companion clothed in black. Hiei gave a shrug and looked away. "Well, alright, Keiichi. We can go to the library."

Keiichi let out a squeal of delight before wiggling out of Kurama's hold. He took Kurama by one hand and Hiei by the other, the three of them walking side by side by side down the sidewalk. The little boy swung their arms and hummed loudly to himself.

Kurama and Hiei exchanged glances again, Kurama pretending not to notice the uncomfortable look on the fire demon's face as the people along the sidewalk looked at them curiously. Kurama shook his head and chuckled to himself.

--

When they entered the library, Keiichi led both of them by the hand to the child's section. When they reached the large circular surrounding of shelves, a brightly colored rug in the center crowded with bean bag chairs, the little boy let go of their hands. He had a smile on his face as his fingers wandered across the spines of all the books he could reach.

Hiei crossed his arms against his chest and looked around Tokyo's Public Library. It was a large, old building, with many different sections. It struck Kurama that perhaps Hiei had never stepped foot in the building before and may want to explore some of the sections.

"You can go look around," Kurama said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I can watch little Urameshi."

Hiei glared at the offending appendage on his shoulder. Kurama removed his hand with a smile. The fire demon looked up at him, slowly shaking his head, before turning his attention to the little boy who was ripping books off of the shelves.

They both were caught off guard when Keiichi looked across the room and squealed, dropping his arm full of books to the ground and running away. Before Kurama could even blink, Hiei was gone, chasing after the boy.

Kurama just shook his head, the same small smile on his face, before quietly trailing behind.

Keiichi was running up to a young woman, arms out stretched. The young woman had a couple of large books in her hands, glasses in front of her green eyes, and her brown hair pulled up into a loose bun. She knelt down on the ground, careful of her knee length skirt, and took the boy into a big hug.

"Hi, Miss Midi!" Keiichi greeted, burying his face in her neck.

She laughed, putting the books she held on the ground. "Hello there, Keiichi." She pulled him away from her, studying him closely. "Where is your Momma today?"

"Momma and Papa are on vacation!" He exclaimed, his fingers grasping on to her hands. "My Uncle Hiei and Uncle Rama are watching me."

At that announcement, the young woman looked up from his face, and at the two men standing behind the young boy. She smiled unsurely at both of them.

"I didn't know either Keiko or Yusuke had brothers," she admitted, looking them up and down.

Kurama smiled at her, placing a hand on Hiei's shoulder. "Oh, we aren't related, per say. Just old friends of Yusuke's."

The young women's eyes twinkled. "And yet he still calls you 'uncle'?"

Hiei snorted. "It's a stupid thing his mother makes him do."

Her brow furrowed. "I do not think showing sentiment is stupid."

"Neither do I," Kurama intervened. "I'm Suichi. This is Hiei."

She rose from her kneeling position off the floor. "Well, it is nice to meet you both. Keiichi is a fabulous kid." She ruffled his black hair. "I'm Midori, a librarian here."

Kurama extended to her his hand.

Midori shook Kurama's hand before offering hers to Hiei. He glared at it before turning away, snorting lightly.

The librarian pulled her hand back, clearly offended. She looked the small man up and down. Her green eyes shot open wide at the hem of his cloak, his sword inadvertently exposing itself. "Why are you wearing a sword?" She whispered in a panic.

Hiei's attention snapped to the librarian, an annoyed expression his face. He opened his mouth to reply shortly, but was interrupted by a reasonable Kurama.

"My friend here is a history buff, of sorts," Kurama said to the woman. "He reenacts old wars in the park on occasion. We've just come from a reenactment, you see."

Midori studied his face for a moment before nodding once. "Just see to it he doesn't bring the sword back in here please." She turned her attention to the small fire demon. "We most certainly do not allow weapons of any kind in the library."

Hiei arched an eyebrow, the annoyed expression still on his face. "You have no idea," he muttered quietly.

Midori huffed slightly before ruffling Keiichi's hair again. "Just let me know when you're ready to check out, okay sweetheart?"

He nodded, smiling brightly up at her. She smiled at him before sparing one last warning glance at the two men standing behind him, and turned on her heel, clunking loudly as she walked away.

Hiei shook his head. "Humans."

"Hey!" Keiichi exclaimed, "I'm human too, Uncle Hiei."

"No," Hiei countered. "You're only partly human. That makes you tolerable. Now, go pick out a book so we can get out of this damn place."

Keiichi shuffled past the both of them and back to the child's section of the library. Kurama caught Hiei's eye and sighed. "I do wish you wouldn't curse in front of the child."

--

Kurama had been overly apologetic to the human woman when they tried to check out books from the library. He was smiling and batting his eyelashes and apologizing for the fact that they didn't have Keiichi's library card.

The woman was so predictable. She blushed and said the card didn't matter, she could pull up the Urameshi's information using just the last name.

Hiei resisted the urge to sigh and instead narrowed his red eyes at the librarian. _Humans._

"Uncle Hiei?" Keiichi's voice reached his ears as the little boy reached up and tugged on the fire demon's hand.

Hiei looked down at the boy, his mind briefly registering the fact that the little boy had wrapped his fingers around his own larger hand. He tried to tug it away from him, but Keiichi clung to his hand persistently.

"Uncle Hiei?" He tried again.

Again, the fire demon found himself resisting a sigh. "What?" He asked gruffly.

"Can we go to Grammy and Grampa's shop for lunch?" With his free hand, Keiichi rubbed his belly, "I'm so hungry."

Female giggling caught his attention. Hiei looked up in time to see the librarian hand Kurama the two books Keiichi had finally settled on.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this," Midori began, green eyes flickering over to Hiei, "but you two make such a cute couple."

He saw red for a moment, and his hand twitched for his sword. It wasn't until he saw the small grin on her face that he thought she might have been trying to provoke him on purpose.

"We are not a couple," he growled, realizing the little boy holding on to his hand fearlessly probably lessened his threat to her person.

All the more reason he was going to kill Yusuke when he returned from his little, 'vacation.'

"Oh," the librarian said, her small growing brighter. "Well, in that case!" She slipped Kurama a slip of paper and winked at him. "Call me sometime."

Kurama returned her smile before glancing at Hiei and the boy over his shoulder. "Are you ready for lunch?" He asked and Keiichi groaned.

"SOOOO HUNGRY!" He exclaimed, his hold on Hiei's hand tightening.

Hiei tried pulling the hand away again, but as they walked towards the door of the library and to the streets of Tokyo, the little boy continued to hold on, humming to himself and smiling up at Hiei whenever the demon tried to glare down at him.

Hiei felt his resolve ebb away just a little bit.

He steeled his gaze and glared at the back of Kurama's head as they walked to the Yukimura Ramen Shop and thought about all the ways he would make the former detective suffer.

--

The one good thing – and there was only one good thing – about associating with the idiotic spirit detective and his human wife and annoying child was the constant free supply of ramen. He never let on to how much he enjoyed the noodles, because that could be considered a weakness. He went his entire life without it, and only ever tried it because of the idiotic spirit detective and his human wife.

And now he spent his free time sneaking into the human world for free ramen.

Pathetic, really. Almost as pathetic as the little boy at his side, who wouldn't shut up – even as he stuffed his mouth full of noodles. Almost as pathetic as the way _Kurama_, who sat across from them in the booth, _looked_ at the little boy – like he actually cared what the kid had to say. Like he actually cared about the kid.

Kurama was too weak, Hiei figured. Kurama had spent a long time trapped in a human's body; obviously that has clouded his judgment. Because the fox demon looks at the little boy the same way the fox demon looks at his human mother. And that is the most pathetic thing Hiei has ever seen.

Hiei couldn't care less what the little kid had to say. He was a moron, like his father before him. And he was overly emotional, like his human mother.

Certainly, the little boy didn't matter in the least.

That was the mantra Hiei kept repeating to himself as Keiichi leaned over and rested his head on Hiei's arm, let out a contented sigh, and closed his eyes.

Certainly, the little boy didn't matter in the least. Not in the least. Not even a little.

Hiei was going to incinerate Yusuke.

"Well, hey! What are you guys doing here?" the voice belonging to the buffoon asked, and the little boy at Hiei's side raised his head and blinked.

"Uncle 'Bara?" The little boy questioned, rubbing his eyes.

Kuwabara appeared at the edge of their booth, a smile on his face. "Hey there, Keiichi. Why are you out with Kurama and Hiei?" The question was directed with a cool glance at the demons, almost if he suspected something was up.

Hiei almost snorted at him. Did the idiot think he wanted to be spending time with the annoying child?

"Yusuke and Keiko are taking a weekend vacation," Kurama answered, leaning back in his seat to get a better look at the comically tall human.

"Oh, that's right," Kuwabara said, rubbing his chin, "he mentioned somethin' about wantin' another little Urameshi."

Hiei did snort at him. "He wants another one of these …" he nudged the boy next to him with an elbow in sheer disbelief, "_things_?"

Keiichi's nose wrinkled and he stuck his tongue out. Hiei resisted the urge to stick out his tongue in retaliation.

"So you're watchin' him, Kurama?" Kuwabara asked.

The kitsune shook his head. "Actually, Hiei is watching Keiichi."

Kuwabara deadpanned. "What?!" he slapped his palm to his forehead. "Why the heck would they ask the shrimp to watch the … the other shrimp?! Normally, normally they always ask Yukina and me. Why…?" his voice trailed off and he looked at Kurama hopelessly.

Hiei wanted to snicker. Sure, watching the kid was a pain in the ass, but the oaf's jealousy made it worthwhile.

"I would imagine Keiko didn't wish to overload your pregnant wife," Kurama answered in a level headed tone. "She is due any day now, isn't she?"

Kuwabara nodded, an obviously offended look still on his face, "About a month or so left." He made a whining noise in the back of his throat. "But, but I could still watch him! Huh, Keiichi? You wanna come back with me and play with the girls? We'll have a slumber party!"

Keiichi stared up at Hiei with wide brown eyes. Hiei recognized the look in the little boy's eyes almost instantly. It was the same look he used to get when they had been working cases and somebody needed rescuing. And as much as he would have liked to just pawn the kid off on Kuwabara, even if it would be an inconvenience to Yukina, the little kid was looking up at him like he was his only hero, or something.

And if the kid liked him better than Kuwabara, who was he to punish the brat for good judgment?

"I don't think so," Hiei said finally, turning his attention away from Keiichi to glower up at Kuwabara.

"I wanna stay with Uncle Hiei, Uncle 'Bara," Keiichi added.

Kurama cleared his throat. "Perhaps all three of us could come over to your house after lunch for a _play date_, Kazuma?"

Kuwabara, his brow furrowed in confusion, nodded once. "Yeah, yeah, okay. Let me just grab some ramen for Yukina and we'll be on our way, okay?"

Kurama smiled. "She sent you out on a mission?"

The oaf sighed loudly and shook his head. "At least this time it's just ramen she's cravin'. With the twins she was going crazy for vanilla ice cream and pickles." He turned and headed back to the kitchen, calling out loudly for Mr. Yukimura.

Keiichi wrinkled his nose again. "Ice cream and pickles sounds gross together."

Kurama leaned forward in his seat, a small grin on his face. "Oh, it is. I assure you. I didn't know she had such cravings." His eyes flickered toward the fire demon, "did you, Hiei?"

Hiei glared at him. "No."

"Hmm," Kurama said, leaning back but not taking that grin off his face. "It will be good to see the girls again. I haven't in a while."

Keiichi let out a loud sigh. "They're pretty annoying."

"Keiichi," Kurama scolded gently, "that isn't a very nice thing to say."

"But they are! They always want me to play house, and they have dolls, and they talk so much!" Keiichi threw his little arms in the air. "I asked Momma and Papa if Uncle Hiei could watch me instead of staying at their house."

Hiei looked down at the boy, surprised. "And why would you ask that?"

He gave the fire demon a toothy grin. "'Cause you're the best, Uncle Hiei! Not annoying like little girls, or nothin'." Keiichi rested his head against Hiei's arm again, and Hiei stiffened. "I like bein' with you much better."

Kurama smiled gently at Hiei.

Hiei glared at the kitsune. "Not a word, fox."

--

It was obvious to Kurama that Hiei was uncomfortable. The fire demon had stationed himself on the Kuwabara's living room window sill, sword rested against his shoulder, his face staring out the window. To anyone else, he looked perfectly at peace in their friends' home. But Kurama knew Hiei better than that. His red eyes looked distracted, and the scowl on his face was deeper than normal contemplation would allow.

Kurama could only imagine how his friend felt, in the home of a relative who knew nothing of their blood ties. The three children were sprawled on the carpet in front of construction paper and crayons, each coloring to the best of their ability. The girls were younger than Keiichi (he was four and they were still two, though their third birthday would be there before their new sibling was delivered) and so their coloring pages were little more than squiggly lines. Still, they were very proud of their work. They kept pausing during their coloring and running up to one of their parents, or even to Kurama, to show what they had accomplished. But their fear of Hiei was so apparent. They avoided even looking over in his direction, never mind showing him a coloring page.

Kuwabara and Yukina were sitting on the couch, his arm over her shoulders and her hands resting on her swollen tummy. Kurama sat in the chair closest to Yukina, trying to engage in small talk while keeping an eye on his fire demon friend, lest the situation call for a speedy retreat.

For his part, Hiei seemed to be completely oblivious to the girls' obvious hesitation of him, but his scowl only deepened every time one of the girls waddled over to someone else with their construction paper in hand.

Kurama rattled the ice around in his glass and smiled gently at the blue haired girl. "Do you know what you are having, Yukina?"

She smiled back at him and rubbed her belly lovingly. "Not yet, though Kazuma seems to think it will be another girl."

Kuwbara grinned toothily. "I _know_ it's a girl. I can feel it."

Kurama nodded and glanced at Hiei from the corner of his eye. He wondered how the Forbidden Child felt about his sister producing more forbidden children that got to grow up in a house where they weren't so forbidden at all, but wouldn't ever ask. He could only assume it added to the fire demon's apparent uncomfortableness.

For the first time since the children sat down on the carpet to color, Keiichi stood up. He took his piece of red construction paper and walked over to the window. He smiled when he made it to Hiei's side and held up the paper.

Hiei turned his head from staring out the window and looked down at the boy, his scowl decreasing in ferocity slightly.

"I colored this for you, Uncle Hiei," Keiichi announced proudly. He proffered his paper with a grin on his face.

Hiei plucked the paper out of the little boy's hands hesitantly and stared down at it. Keiichi rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "It's a picture of me and you, Uncle Hiei!" He exclaimed. "Do you like it?"

Wordlessly, Hiei gave a single nod.

Keiichi let out a happy scream before turning around and running across the living room and into the girls' bedroom.

The twins glanced at each other before standing up and running after him.

Kurama turned to Yukina and Kuwabara in an effort to make small talk and take their attention off of Hiei, who was clearly made more uncomfortable by Keiichi's show of affection. "Do you have any names picked out for your little girl?"

While Kurama distracted Yukina and Kuwabara, he didn't notice the way Hiei studied the picture closely, or the way he glanced around to make sure no one was watching, or the way he gently folded the paper and stuck it into the safety of his cloak. But after the lengthy conversation of names, he did notice that the air of uncomfortableness that had previously surrounded Hiei had completely disappeared.

--

Watching a child was a pain in the ass. Hiei decided he would never spawn, ever. Never ever ever. Ever. Keiichi was okay as far as kids go – at least he knew where to place his hero worship – but he needed constant attending to. Every few hours he had to eat, he still needed slight assistance when using the restroom, and he needed to be monitored while he bathed. He was grateful Kurama was there to do the majority of the dirty work. Not that he would tell Kurama that, of course. But he had a feeling Kurama knew anyway, and that was the only reason the fox had stuck around them the whole day the way he had.

Keiichi came running out of the bathroom and into the living room, where Hiei had taken refuge on the couch, wearing nothing but his birthday suit and laughing hysterically. Kurama followed behind, holding a towel in his hands and a grin on his face.

"Come here, Keiichi," he taunted.

The little boy squealed and ran behind the couch. "Save me, Uncle Hiei!" He yelled as he ran, avoiding Kurama to the best of his ability. "The tickle monster is going to get me!"

Hiei looked at him in surprise before turning his attention to Kurama. As soon as he looked at the fox demon, the red-head dove and practically tackled the little boy, taking the brunt of the fall himself, and wrapped Keiichi in the towel. And when the little boy had completely disappeared behind the towel Kurama attacked his sides.

Keiichi laughed and screamed and floundered beneath the towel. He finally managed to escape when Kurama lessoned the tickle onslaught and emerged almost completely dry. He grinned a grin the fire demon had seen on the boy's father's face a hundred times, spread his arms open, and jumped onto Kurama, wrapping his little arms around his neck and knocking the both of them to the ground.

Kurama chuckled lightly and wrapped his arms around the boy in a hug. "It appears you have won, Keiichi."

Keiichi squealed again before laughing in a way far too maniacal for a four year old boy to laugh. "That was so much fun, Uncle Rama!"He exclaimed and held the fox demon tighter. "I love you, Uncle Rama!"

Kurama gave a quiet chuckle and reached for the discarded towel. "I love you too, Keiichi."

Hiei allowed himself a small smile as Kurama tried to finish drying the boy while he was still trapped in a hug. Perhaps Kurama was helping with Keiichi for reasons other than assisting the fire demon. And perhaps that wasn't such a terrible thing.

--

Once Keiichi had been fed, bathed, and dressed in pajamas, Kurama had said his goodbyes. The little boy had kissed his cheek and waved him off, a hand clutching on to Hiei's robes. Kurama had told Hiei he would need to put the boy to bed soon and promised to show up at the house first thing in the morning before he disappeared completely from view.

"Alright," Hiei said, prying Keiichi's hand off his cloak. "It's time for bed."

Keiichi nodded and tugged him by the hand to his bedroom. When they made it to the room decorated in a dinosaur theme, Keiichi catapulted himself onto the bed with a laugh and smiled at Hiei. "Read me a story please, Uncle Hiei."

Hiei felt his eyebrow twitch. He glanced at the two books they had taken from the library on the little boy's nightstand. "No."

Keiichi's face fell and he frowned deeply. "Please, Uncle Hiei? Momma always reads me a book."

Hiei stiffened. "I am not your 'Momma.'"

"Duh," Keiichi said, "you're my Uncle Hiei. And I want you to read me a story."

He glared down at the little boy. The little boy just looked up at him, his face full of nothing but absolute, unabashed adoration. He set his jaw and thought briefly about all the different ways he would kill the boy's father.

Perhaps he'd light him on fire. Or drown him. Several hundred swipes with his sword?

One thing was certain – Yusuke Urameshi would die for spawning such a child.

"Fine," Hiei relented, grabbing a book from the nightstand and sitting down on the foot of Keiichi's bed. The little boy squealed and dove under his covers, resting his head on his pillow. Hiei opened the book. "The clock," he read, and turned the page. "Here is Mr. Clock." He turned the next page. "Mr. Clock goes tic toc." He turned another page. "Tic toc goes Mr. Clock."

Hiei gave the book a murderous, and yet completely confused, stare. "You actually find enjoyment in this …. _book_?" He glanced up from the book in his hands to find Keiichi already completely asleep in his dinosaur covered sheets.

He sighed and snapped the book shut.

For a moment, Hiei sat at the edge of the bed and watched the little Urameshi sleep. How could such a small little boy create such a huge disturbance in his life? With an arch of an eyebrow and a shake of the head, he rose from his seat, and placed the book back on the night stand.

Keiichi shivered lightly and without even think about it, Hiei reached over and pulled the sheets up under the little boy's chin, earning a slight sigh of contentment from the four year old. Hiei froze, his hands still on the blanket, his body still hovering over the bed.

He glared and grunted and quickly moved away from the bed, shaking his head and muttering darkly as he walked out of the bedroom. Yusuke Urameshi would surely suffer for spawning such a child. If it was the last thing Hiei ever did, Yusuke Urameshi would pay.

* * *

**A/N**: And so ends Friday. Up next is, you guessed it, Saturday!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.

Please review! ;p Consider it a belated Christmas gift?


	3. Saturday

**Disclaimer:** I got Koenma for Christmas.

**Edit:** On 1/4/09 to hide my shame. *hides shame*

**A/N**: Has anyone seen the Yu Yu Hakusho: Poltergeist Report movie? Okay – not only, on the description of the movie, does it refer to Yusuke as "Young Yu Yu Hakusho," but they call Kuwabara KuwaHara throughout the entire move. And … the voices. Oh, and the OOCness.

Basically, what I'm saying is, if that movie is allowed to be all OOC (when has Yusuke ever turned to KuwBARA and said, "You rest there, my friend," like a freaking noble from a Renaissance Fair?) then I don't wanna hear it if I go into some unintentional OOCness.

Because unlike that movie, any OOCness here will be unintentional.

**A/N deux**: Thank you, Jordan, for never beating around the bush but always keeping your humor. ^_^

Many, MANY thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review! It really does mean the world.

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Chapter Two

_Day Two - Saturday_

Former Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi sipped on his mojito and lounged around on the white plastic slatted chair by the hotel's pool wearing nothing but bright blue swim trunks and an equally bright smile. Vacations without the little runt were so worth the hassle of conning Hiei into babysitting.

He put his drink on the small table next to his chair and sighed in contentment. He wiggled his toes and put his hands behind his head, drinking in the sunlight of the warm, Saturday afternoon. Sure, he had to run a few more errands for Junior to afford the trip, but it wasn't such a big deal. He worked for Koenma every now and then, tasks ranging in everything from consulting to extermination – for a fee, of course. Sure, Koenma was an old friend who allowed him to come back to life all those years ago and was even somehow (illegally, Yusuke was certain) involved in getting them a home as a wedding present. But the dude was loaded and Yusuke was no idiot. Yeah, the majority of his time was spent playing Mr. Mom while Keiko worked as a teacher. But the few jobs he did do throughout the year paid the majority of their bills.

"Yeah," Yusuke sighed and shifted in his seat to sit up, scanning the pool area to catch site of his wife, "life is pretty sweet."

He spied a couple blonde haired kids playing together in the shallow end of the pool, a blonde haired man (presumably their father) caught in the middle of them and being used as a pool raft. He smiled despite himself, and wondered what Keiichi would be doing if he were here with them.

Probably stealing everybody's water noodles. Or running around with a water gun in hand, squirting the women who refused to get in the pool. Or jumping on those kids' dad along with all the kids, without ever once being asked to join in.

Yusuke's brow furrowed and he chuckled quietly. The whole point of the vacation was to get away from the kid for a little while. Was he actually missing him?

"Yusuke!" a familiar female voice sing-songed, and the former detective looked up from his musings. He caught sight of his wife, clad in nothing but a black bikini, climbing out of the pool using the ladder. Her brown hair was slicked back from being wet, dripping water down her already wet body.

All thought left the young man as his wife, his perfect, beautiful wife, stepped out of the pool and walked towards him, hips swaying.

When she sat down next to him on his pool chair, he let out a low whistle. "Hey, baby. Lookin' good. Don't tell me you're here by yourself."

She giggled and blushed and hit him playfully on the forearm. "Yusuke," she chided and he smiled brightly. "Don't be dirty."

"I can be something else?" He questioned, feigning surprise.

Keiko laughed and reached for his mojito. "Typically, no. But miracles are possible."

"Hey, I resent that," Yusuke responded, grinning. He watched his wife as she finished off his drink. His grin grew when he realized that she was producing butterflies in his stomach. After knowing her since they were in diapers, she still could make him nervous.

He sighed at that thought, the stray recollection of diapers pulling to the forefront thoughts of his son. He was so used to being Mr. Mom, he felt a little naked without the kid at his side.

Keiko smiled up at him gently. "You miss him."

He nodded and scratched his temple. "Yeah," he admitted. "I guess I do."

"It's just one more night," she said, placing a reassuring hand on his arm.

He smiled at her, wrapping his arms around her wet form and pulling her closer to him. "We'll just have to make sure we bring him home a little sibling," he said and he kissed the pulse point on her neck.

She giggled and blushed and tried to pull away from him, but he held on tighter. "Yusuke!" she chided and he smiled against her neck.

--

Hiei woke up with stiff muscles, sunlight filtering through blinds and landing over his eyelids. With a quiet groan, he sat up, his memories hazy. Blinking his red eyes, he took in his unfamiliar surroundings. He was sitting on blue carpet, a fuzzy blanket decorated with prehistoric looking creatures on his lap. He blinked a few more times and noticed that he had apparently fallen asleep on the floor of Keiichi's room, next to the bed that little brat was still sleeping on.

He scowled as he stretched, hoping to work out the kink in his back. He'd only slept in the kid's room out of necessity, of course. He couldn't bring himself to sleep in Yusuke and Keiko's bed. He didn't try very hard to bring himself to sleep in their bed, because he simply didn't want to - sanitation issues, and all. And he had tried to sleep on their couch in the living room, but it was awkward and too soft. And he couldn't sleep on the window sill that over looked the front porch because the moon had been large in the night sky, and the moonlight had kept him awake. So the only other available option was in the kid's room. And that was the only reason he had taken refuge there at night.

The. Only. Reason.

This kid would be the death of him.

As Hiei stood up he thought, and not for the first time, that he should be the death of the kid before the kid was the death of him. But there was something so … dishonorable about attacking a child. He would just have to settle for disemboweling the child's father. There really was no other option.

Well, the disemboweling wasn't set in stone, of course. Yusuke had to suffer – that much was certain and there was no other option – but how he would suffer was up for compromise. Oh, and Hiei had some ideas.

He dropped the blanket to the ground, gave Keiichi a sweeping once over and, after determining he was still sleeping and was just fine, left the bedroom.

He could sense Kurama before he could see him, and Hiei headed into the kitchen. He noted the fox demon had taken the initiative to begin cooking breakfast and nodded once in recognition.

"Good morning, Hiei," Kurama said as the skillet he was leaning over sizzled. "Bacon and eggs are for breakfast."

Hiei sat on the kitchen counter and gave a non committal shrug with one shoulder.

"Scrambled okay? From what I can remember, scrambled with cheese is the only way Keiichi will eat them."

Again, Hiei gave a non committal shrug.

"Yukina called this morning," Kurama announced, taking a wooden spatula to his skillet, "she, Kuwabara, and the girls are visiting Genkai. She wanted to know if we wanted to stop by as well."

Hiei's brow furrowed for multiple reasons. One, it was almost humorous to see the great Yoko Kurama – the King of Thieves - looking so pathetically domestic. Second, his announcement had come as a bit of a surprise.

"Hn," he finally said and Kurama took that as the response he was looking for.

"Is Keiichi awake yet?"

"If he was, wouldn't he be in here bouncing off the walls?"

Kurama gave a soft chuckle and reached for some plates in a cabinet. "I don't suppose you'd go wake him up for breakfast."

Hiei grunted. "Let him sleep. I rather enjoy the quiet."

--

The Kuwabaras were already at the temple when Hiei and company arrived. Keiichi was practically bouncing up the stairs, grasping on to Kurama's hand and singing. It wasn't a song about anything in particular, just whatever the young child happened to lay eyes on or anything he was hoping about. Most of the song was versed about all the candy he hoped to receive from his "Grammy Genkai."

To which Hiei found himself rather inexplicably interjecting, "No candy until after lunch."

To which Keiichi would sing louder.

When they made it to the temple and the large doors opened with a creek, Keiichi ran inside, leaving the demons behind in his dust. By the time Kurama and Hiei made it inside, Keiichi was already sitting down on Yukina's lap, resting his head on her swollen stomach, and sucking on a lollipop.

Kuwabara and Genkai were across the room, talking about something in hushed tones, Kuwabara occasionally calling out his Spirit Sword. Apparently he was getting tips. The twin girls were running around in a game of tag, which left pregnant Yukina and Keiichi in the corner. Kurama nodded at the ice apparition and made his way over to Kuwabara and Genkai.

Hiei narrowed his eyes and stood before his sister and his temporary ward. "Where did you get the candy?" He asked in a clipped tone.

Keiichi gave a lazy shrug and pulled the lolly out of his mouth with a loud pop. "Grammy Genkai. She always has candy for me. Papa says it's no fair that she plays favorites, but I don't care, 'cause I always get candy."

"I told you – no candy until after lunch. It will spoil your appetite." Hiei said, his eyes narrowed even more.

Yukina giggled.

Hiei froze and looked at her, realizing in a moment just what he had said. And the fact that he sounded almost exactly like the little brat's mother. He grunted and crossed his arms against his chest.

"Why don't you go play with the girls, Keiichi?" Yukina prompted, shifting on the floor. Keiichi stood up and nodded, disappearing across the room almost immediately.

The pregnant woman tried to stand but, like most pregnant women, had trouble getting up off the floor on her own. Hiei reached out a hand and grabbed her elbow, hoisting her up in one good swoop.

She giggled again and adjusted her dress. "Thank you very much." She said, standing at his side.

"Hn," he responded, letting go of her and turning his attention to the children.

Keiichi, lollipop long forgotten, was running after the girls with his arms outstretched like a zombie. The girls were screaming and laughing and running around, though whether or not they were specifically running away from him was debatable.

Yukina let out a quiet sigh from his side. "To the girls, he will be a big brother," she announced. She placed a hand on her belly. "An adopted big brother, but a brother none the less. To this one, as well," she rubbed her stomach. "Much the same way he seems to have adopted you as his."

Hiei raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm older than his father."

She smiled gently. "I'm not sure that matters." She studied his face for a moment. "You're very good with him."

He snorted in disagreement.

"You are," Yukina insisted. "You're a very good brother."

Hiei's widened fractionally, wondering if she knew how loaded that statement was. Yukina reached for his arm. Grabbing a hold of his wrist, she placed his palm on the underside of her belly before he even had a chance to protest.

"Feel that?" She questioned, pressing his palm against her harder.

Hiei could feel movement beneath his hand and he stilled.

Yukina giggled quietly. "Started making a ruckus the moment you touched me to help me up," she told him, smiling. "Guess this one likes you too."

He raised another eyebrow and shook his head, not moving his hand away from his sister's belly. "Joy."

--

After lunch with the Kuwabaras and Genkai at the temple, Kurama, Hiei, and Keiichi decided to head over to the park. Keiichi sat on Hiei's shoulders, humming loudly and waving at random people they passed on the sidewalk.

"Why do you keep waving, Keiichi?" Kurama asked as they walked. "Surely you don't know everyone we walk by."

"Sure I do!" Keiichi insisted. "That's Lady With Hat. And there's Old Man With Dog. Oh, and there's Fat Guy!"

Kurama chuckled. "I see," he said and they turned the corner, the tall trees of the park coming into view. "You wave to everyone."

"No," Keiichi said, shaking his head harder than necessary. "Just the people I want to."

"Ah," the red head said with a nod. He exchanged glances with his fire demon friend. "It seems the little Urameshi is rather wise for his age."

"He's four and smarter than his father," Hiei said with a smirk. "Of course, I've met squirrels who are smarter than his father."

Kurama raised both eyebrows and hid a grin. "You go out and meet squirrels on a regular basis?"

"There's Ice Cream Man, guys!" Keiichi exclaimed loudly. "Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream man!" He gasped. "Miss MIDI!"

Hiei's eyebrows furrowed, trying to decipher what it was about Keiichi's last two words that was familiar, when the little boy squirmed off his shoulders and jumped to the ground. As soon as his feet touched the grass, he took off running towards a park bench underneath a large tree.

The park bench was occupied by a young woman and Hiei looked at Kurama for an explanation.

"The librarian from yesterday," Kurama stated as they followed behind their charge. "Midori, is her name."

He gave a half hearted grunt, his memory finally recalling the librarian by the time they made it to the park bench. Keiichi had parked himself in the librarian's lap and was prattling on and on to her about how he wanted to have ice cream _so bad_ and wouldn't it be just the greatest if she'd have ice cream with them? Because she was so cool, and his Uncles were so cool, and how cool would it be if all the cool people had ice cream? And please, please, _please_ have ice cream because that would just be the best thing of all time. Ever.

Midori blinked owlishly at the little boy.

Kurama chuckled. "My friend and I here were just about to buy some ice cream from the, Ice Cream Man," he said, nodding to Keiichi as he said the title. "Would you like to join us, Midori?"

"Oh," the librarian managed. She shrugged a shoulder and smiled. "Sure, I'd love to."

Hiei snorted lightly. "Are you going to pay for your own?"

The woman blanched. "Well, yes, sure, I-"

"No, no," Kurama interrupted. "I'll treat the lady, Hiei." He turned his head and smiled at her. "I'd be _delighted_ to treat the lady."

Midori blushed and Hiei snorted again. "You'd be crazy to treat the lady," he muttered in an oddly mocking tone.

Her green eyes narrowed fiercely. "Well, aren't you pleasant? Your mother lets you talk like that to strangers, little boy? How old are you – twelve?"

"That depends," Hiei responded, his arms crossing over his chest. "How old are you? Forty seven? A woman of your _maturity_ should know to hold her tongue."

"Now, now," Kurama held up his hands, "let's be civil about this. It is only ice cream-"

"ICE CREAM!" Keiichi interjected, bouncing on Midori's lap.

"-and shouldn't cause this much of a ruckus." Kurama finished. "We're all only here because we care for the boy, so, let's behave like adults," he sent a slight glare Hiei's way, "and handle ourselves civilly for the sake of the child."

Midori blushed again and hung her head a little. "Sorry about all that, Suichi. I would love to have ice cream with you, if the offer still stands?"

He smiled gently. "Of course. Hiei, would you care to come with me to order the ice cream?"

Hiei studied the woman who held Keiichi in her lap, unsure if he should entrust his charge with the annoying stranger.

"He'll be just fine with Midori," Kurama reassured, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And we'll only be fifty feet away."

Keiichi nodded frantically. "Go. Get. ICE CREAM!"

Hiei arched an eyebrow at the boy and sent him a look, as if to say he would go get the ice cream, but because it was of his own volition and not because the little boy wanted him to, before turning and heading over to the cart a few feet away. Kurama turned to follow as well.

"Twenty one," Midori's voice followed after them.

Kurama looked over his shoulder at her. "Pardon?"

"I'm twenty one," she said. "Just, you know, in case you were wondering. After that … forty seven, thing. I'm twenty one. So, yeah."

"Of course," Kurama responded, smiling at her before continuing his trek.

The duo made it to the line at the ice cream stand, standing next to each other but not directly looking at each other. "You could be nicer to her; Keiichi seems to like her."

"Hn."

Kurama was about to say something else, but he felt a strange surge in Spirit Energy. The ground shook like an earth quake, and the people around them started to scream.

A large noise erupted, and the fox demon heard Hiei curse. He turned to look for Keiichi, and noticed a giant worm demon had sprung from the ground near the park bench that they had just stood around. The librarian had gathered the boy in her arms and was running as fast as she could from the pursuing demon. The worm demon raised more out of the ground and moved after them.

The beast clearly had its small, beady eyes set on them.

Before Kurama could even react, Hiei was there, sword drawn and cloak discarded. He jumped onto the demon's back, raised his sword, and dug it deep into the demon's body. The worm bucked, trying to dislodge its unwelcome passenger.

Midori had tripped and fallen. She was lying on the ground, head down, Keiichi pulled against her and trying to block him with her body from the beast. Hiei stood on the worm's back and looked down at them. For a moment, Kurama could almost feel the world still as Hiei stared down at the two of them.

And then the worm demon was set aflame.

When it was nothing but ashes and cinders, Kurama looked around. He noticed that at least fifty people had stopped in their tracks and were staring at Hiei, Midori, and Keiichi.

Midori and Keiichi also seemed frozen, staring with wide eyes at Hiei.

Kurama cleared his throat and walked over to them. He placed a hand on Hiei's shoulder. "Perhaps you should," he motioned at the crowd that had gathered to watch them, "convince them that this did not happen?"

Hiei grunted and shook Kurama off. "I have to do all the work," he muttered, turning on his heel and approaching the crowd.

Kurama smiled down at the librarian and Keiichi. "How are you two?"

Midori blinked once, twice at him, before promptly falling over and fainting.

Keiichi jumped to his feet. "That was so awesome! Did you see that, Uncle Rama? Didja? Didja?! Uncle Hiei, he was all, _sword_! And then he was all, _fire_! Didja see how so awesome that was, Uncle Rama? DIDJA?!"

Kurama chuckled. "Yes, I did. But let's not talk about it until we get home, okay? We don't want anyone else to know about this little adventure."

"Is that 'cause no one is supposed to know about Uncle K'enma, and his job?" Keiichi asked, his head tilting to the side.

Kurama nodded. "That's right, Keiichi. Can you wake up Miss Midori?"

Keiichi pushed the toes of his feet against her stomach. When she didn't stir, he shrugged. "I've done all I can."

The fox demon raised an eyebrow.

"Alright," Hiei said, appearing at the child's side with his white bandana in hand. "They think there was just an earthquake and a lightning strike," he motioned to the charred land a few feet away where the worm demon had once been. "Can we go now?"

Kurama nodded his head at the fainted librarian. "You need to convince her still."

Hiei grumbled but his third eye glowed. After a moment, Midori stood up. She grimaced when her eyes landed on Kurama and she wiped the dirt off her skirt.

"Listen, Suichi," she said, standing before him with a glare on her face. "You know, you seem like a really – a really interesting person, or whatever. But that was, without a doubt, the worst date I've ever been on and I would just, I would really appreciate it if you would, um, never come around. Ever again. Okay? So, yeah, stay away." Bowing her head, Midori quickly turned and ran away from them.

Kurama sighed and glared at Hiei, who was grinning and clearly pleased with himself.

"Man," Keiichi said, scratching his head. "Miss Midi seemed like she was scared of you, Uncle Rama."

"She certainly did, Keiichi," Hiei grinned.

"You know," Kurama raised an eyebrow. "I happened to think she was quite attractive. I might have eventually given her a call."

The fire demon snorted. "Then I've done you a favor, fox. If she couldn't handle the site of a low level worm demon, she most certainly wouldn't have been able to handle you."

"Oh, was that your reason?" Kurama countered. "I saw you hesitate."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "I merely hesitated because I was deciding whether or not the brat was even worth saving."

"Hey!" Keiichi exclaimed. "Miss Midi is not a brat!"

Hiei looked down at the boy by his side in mild surprise. "Oh? And what makes you so certain I wasn't talking about you?"

"Duh," Keiichi rolled his eyes, "you're my Uncle Hiei. You're always there to save me!" He wrapped his arms around Hiei's legs in a hug. "I love you, Uncle Hiei."

Hiei froze and stared down at the little boy wrapped around his legs.

Kurama kneeled and placed a hand on Keiichi's shoulder. "And your Uncle Hiei loves you too, Keiichi." He pried the boy away from the fire demon. "And so do your parents, and your grandparents, and all of your aunts and uncles. Now, come on, let's get you home and cleaned up. You seem to have some … worm, on you."

--

After a bath and a quick snack, Keiichi had practically fallen asleep at the kitchen table. Hiei had learned that though Keiichi had the most energy he'd ever seen one being contain, as soon as he sat still for any length of time, he'd immediately fall asleep. For this he was grateful.

Kurama had picked him up and carried him to his bedroom for a well deserved nap and Hiei made himself comfortable on the couch.

The scene at the park still pissed him off to no end. It wasn't like they never suspected people and/or demons to go after the more … human members of Yusuke's family. He was heir to a throne in the demon world, after all, and some demons didn't like the idea of a partially human ruler with a human family ruling over them – even if said partially human ruler had to fight in order to receive that promised throne.

Still. The worm demon had the audacity to attack when Hiei had stood not fifty feet away. The insufferable idiocy of that beast was almost too much to bear. He could feel his hands twitch for his sword and he had the overwhelming urge to go kill something. Again. But apparently he couldn't leave the freaking kid alone for ten freaking minutes. Freaking A.

"He should be out for at least an hour," Kurama stated, walking into the living room. "And I have to get going. Will you be able to handle dinner?"

Hiei snorted. "Oh, no. Please, oh great Kurama. How will I ever be able to nourish myself without you around?"

"Your sarcasm is not necessary," the kitsune said with an edge to his tone. "I was only concerned for the boy."

"I can take care of the boy just fine," Hiei responded shortly. "I don't need you around to feed him or to reassure him of my so called 'feelings.' By the way, you had no right to presume you knew what they were and lie to him the way you did at the park."

Kurama sighed. "I stepped in at the park because I was worried-"

" - for the boy, right. You don't need to be so damn worried about the damn boy. You really have gotten soft living in the human world."

There was a pause, and Kurama smiled softly at him. "It isn't the human world. I do live here, yes, and because of that I'm around him a lot more than you are. And I'm not soft, either, Hiei. But I've learned that some things are – worth an effort. The child happens to be one of those things. I only stepped in at the park because I was concerned you would say something that would hurt him to make yourself feel better. What I did was not for your sake, by any means, but for his."

Hiei glared at his former teammate. "I thought you had some place to be going to."

Kurama held his gaze. "Do not assume that caring for a little boy who calls me 'Uncle' makes me weak, Hiei."

"Was that a threat?"

"Just think about what I've said," Kurama answered him, heading towards the front door. "And I'll see you tomorrow."

Hiei scowled as the door closed, Kurama disappearing behind it. He had half a mind to follow him and finish the unresolved fight in a more physical way, but also deemed the subject matter not worth the effort.

Stupid, freaking kid.

Hiei would have to double his efforts in finding a suitable punishment for Yusuke.

--

Hiei snorted in sheer disbelief that the fox would think he couldn't handle dinner. He wasn't an idiot (unlike some of the people he associated with) and though he was not completely understanding of all the human customs, they weren't completely foreign either. How hard was it to pour milk over cereal? And the kid seemed to be delighted with dinner and getting to eat it on the couch while watching the _teevee_.

He brought another spoonful of the cereal to his mouth and tried to hide his grin from the four year old that wasn't even paying attention to him. This stuff was – it was crunchy and sweet! With something called 'marshmallows'. Sure, most of the humans he associated with were complete and total idiots, but they definitely knew how to feed themselves.

Keiichi yawned at his side, bringing Hiei out of his reverence for human food. He put his bowl down on the coffee table and wiped his eyes.

"I'm sleepy, Uncle Hiei," he announced.

"Then go to bed."

Keiichi nodded, gave a stretch, and proceeded to lie down on the couch, using Hiei's legs as a pillow.

Hiei stared in complete surprise at the little boy. It didn't take but one minute for him to completely fall into unconsciousness and the fire demon couldn't believe the audacity – that this little child would dare use him as a pillow?

As a _pillow_!?

He was neither soft nor fluffy. He was _no _pillow.

How dare this child just assume he could use this _fire demon_ as nothing more than a _pillow_!

Clearly, Hiei would have to fix the problem. The child obviously needed to be put in his place. First a scolding, and then his own bed with his own pillows.

But.

But if he moved the child, to scold him or to put him in his bed, obviously the child would awaken. And it … it was really peaceful while he was sleeping. Waking him up would mean having to keep an eye on him for longer than necessary, and Hiei really didn't want to have to deal with the child for more than absolutely necessary.

Yes, he would just have to let the child use him as a pillow for now – because being used as a pillow was far better than having to deal with the child when he was awake.

Yes. So, then, he would just have to sleep on the couch as well, so as not to move, so as not to wake up the sleeping beast.

Hiei put his bowl down and grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch. Gently, he spread it out over the boy and tucked it under his chin. The little boy sighed in contentment. Hiei shook his head, reached for the remote control, and turned the teevee off.

Fortunately, this was the last night he would have to spend with the little Urameshi, because the big Urameshis were coming back sometime tomorrow. And oh, the fun he would have paying them back for what they'd put him through.

Keiichi snuggled in closer to Hiei, mumbling in his sleep that sounded an awful lot like, "My Uncle Hiei."

Oh yes. What fun he would he would have paying them for what they'd put him through. This terrible, terrible ordeal.

And that was the mantra Hiei repeated to himself as he drifted asleep with the little boy who called him 'Uncle' curled up next to him.

* * *

And so ends Saturday. Next is Sunday, and Hiei's last day as a babysitter, but certainly not the last chapter of this story. After all, Hiei still has to take his revenge on Yusuke. ^_^

Review, please! They motivate me to write faster.


	4. Sunday

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**A/N**: This was edited by me and me alone. So, you know, you have been warned.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has reviewed as well as favorited/alerted! ^_^ And to Jordan, for always beta-ing eventually.

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Chapter Three

_Day Three - Sunday_

The morning had been interesting. Hiei had woken up to Keiichi's face a breath away from his own, the little boy's index finger just inches away from his Jagan. When Keiichi had realized Hiei had opened his eyes (all three of them) the little boy screamed like a little girl and fell backwards off the couch. That had been amusing enough for Hiei to not hold on to the annoyance of almost being poked and prodded.

Another serving of the sweet and crunchy and marshmallowy cereal had been breakfast on the couch while watching TV, the little boy singing along to whatever crap was on the screen – giant alien monsters, it looked like, of all different colors. Hiei contemplated turning the TV off or changing the channel or something, but the little boy was so absorbed, so focused on the giant alien monsters that it was worth the mind numbing thirty minutes of torture.

There was a booming knock on the front door. Hiei turned to stare at it, raising an eyebrow.

"Somebody's at the door," Keiichi said dismissively, a spoon full of cereal halfway to his mouth and dripping milk on his blue pajamas.

Hiei grunted and ate another bite.

Another booming knock that made the door shake was accompanied by a, "HEY! I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE IN THERE!"

The fire demon recognized the voice and resisted rolling his eyes. Maybe the oaf would eventually give up and go away.

"Uncle Hiei," Keiichi whined, "Somebody's at the door!"

"I'm aware of that," Hiei responded in annoyance.

The oaf knocked on the door and gave a cry. "Come on guys! This isn't funny!"

Hiei begged to differ.

"Well, are you gonna get it?" Keiichi asked. "'Cause, I'm tryin' to watch Teletubbies."

"I really don't care about your Teletubbies." Hiei responded, just as the oaf gave another shout.

"Guys! Ayame is gonna pee her pants! Open up the door or YOU'LL have to deal with the pee!"

Hiei stared at the door again, unsure of how to respond. He didn't particularly want to deal with anymore children. Or pee. Or little children's pee. So, his best bet was to keep the door closed. Eventually the oaf would just give up and go away.

"FINE!" Kuwabara shouted. "I see how it is, Hiei! But don't think I don't know where Yusuke keeps his spare key!"

Hiei grunted and just seconds later the front door swung open.

Kuwabara ran inside, holding one of the twins in both hands at an arm's length from his body. Her face was scrunched up tight and her hands were grasping at her pants.

"Toilet! TOILET! TOILET _NOW_!" Kuwabara yelled, running into the house as fast as he could and disappearing in the main bathroom.

Yukina walked in holding on to the other twin's hand, smiling gently. "Hello, boys," she said.

"Hi, Aunt Yukina!" Keiichi exclaimed. "Amaya, do you wanna watch Teletubbies with me?"

The small half ice apparition nodded and let go of her mother's hand. She gave Hiei a wary look as she walked past him to sit on the other side of Keiichi, climbing on to the opposite end of the couch.

Yukina stepped towards the couch, her hands on her belly. "We have a few errands to run in town and then we thought we'd head over to the zoo. We were wondering if you and Keiichi would like to join us?"

Hiei quirked an eyebrow as Keiichi squirmed in his seat. "The zoo!" He exclaimed. "Oooh! I wanna go to the zoo, Uncle Hiei! Can we, can we, _can we_?"

He studied the boy at his side for a moment; the little Urameshi had clasped both hands together, stuck his bottom lip out in a pout, and his brown eyes were shining.

"Hn."

Keiichi threw his hands in the air in triumph. "Oh, thank you, Uncle Hiei!" He exclaimed.

The bathroom door opened and Ayame ran out with a grin, grasping on to her mother's dress. Kuwabara leaned against the door frame and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "S'okay," he said, a slight pant in his voice. "It was close, but we made it."

--

Hiei and Keiichi trailed behind the Kuwabaras as they walked down the sidewalks in Tokyo. Kuwabara was out in front, a pink diaper bag slung over one shoulder. He was holding on to Amaya's hand and muttering to himself about the stores they were passing. Yukina walked behind her husband, holding on to Ayame's hand, and smiling at Kuwabara's antics. Keiichi sat on Hiei's shoulders, his hands buried in Hiei's hair while he hummed quietly.

"Ah!" Kuwabara exclaimed, coming to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk. "Here we go!"

The group walked inside the store, Hiei glancing around incredulously. Keiichi snorted and voiced the thought that had been on the fire demon's mind. "Bathing suits? I thought we were gonna go to the zoo."

Yukina smiled at the pair of them as Ayame left her hold and chased after her father and sister. "We plan on visiting Genkai next week, before the baby comes. The girls love the beach but their suits from last year are too small."

"Hn," was Keiichi's reply, and brother and sister both stilled.

Yukina giggled, looking at the small boy on the fire demon's shoulders with twinkling eyes. "It seems you're rubbing off on him, Hiei."

"Yukina!" Kuwabara called, appearing before them from an aisle. He had a girl clinging to each leg, the pink diaper bag dangling off his arm, and several different bathing suits in his hands. He looked at his wife with large, pleading eyes. "Babe, I got no idea what size they are or how to do this."

She nodded and started to walk towards him. "Alright, Kazuma. I'm coming." She glanced over her shoulder at Hiei and his charge. "Will you two be alright?"

Hiei quirked an eyebrow at her and she smiled before turning her full attention to her family and urging them down the aisle. After they disappeared from view, Keiichi slouched on Hiei's shoulders.

"This is boring." Keiichi announced, and Hiei grunted his agreement.

He grasped onto Keiichi's legs and started walking around the store, eyes lazily searching the racks for something interesting. Keiichi resumed his humming, peppering in the occasional well placed yawn. After a while, the small boy gave a surprised noise.

"Uncle Hiei," he started, and Hiei could tell by the way the boy had shifted his weight that he had turned his attention off to the right, "why is that man only wearing underwear?"

Hiei turned to the right, and noticed a very pale man standing a few feet away from them, wearing small, vibrant green pants. Very small. Very green. Pants.

"That man isn't alive," Hiei stated, taking cautious steps towards the statue of a man, just in case it was some sort of demon that could mask its energy completely.

"Are you sure?" Keiichi asked, the hands in Hiei's hair tightening around his scalp in trepidation.

He nodded slowly, carefully circling around the pale man in the small shorts from a distance, his eyes glued to his target.

"So, he's …. dead?"

Hiei approached the pale man quietly. He stood behind him and carefully reached out a finger, touching the man in the back. Pulling his finger away, he glared. "Plastic."

"What?"

"It's not a man. It's plastic."

Keiichi sighed in relief. "He's still just wearing underwear though."

Hiei noticed there was a shelf placed in front of the plastic man full of the same type of vibrant green tiny pants and eyed them in disdain. The plastic man looked disgraceful. Who would dress in these … things?

"Guys?" Kuwabara's voice called out, and Hiei turned, noticing Kuwabara, Yukina, and the girls standing several feet away, a few more bags slung over Kuwabara's arms. "You ready to get going?"

--

"I've never seen foxes in a zoo before." Kuwabara stated offhandedly.

Kurama tried not to glare.

"No, I'm serious." Kuwabara continued. "When have you ever gone to a zoo before and said, 'Hey! Let's go look at the foxes!' Never, right? Because they aren't really a zoo animal."

Kurama sighed, resting his forearms on the fence and trying to focus solely on the kindred animals trapped behind the metal wiring.

"I mean, really, Kurama. Help me out here. When you go to a zoo you go look at, like, penguins, and elephants, and lions. But foxes? Foxes, really?"

With a grunt, he gave Kuwabara a withering stare.

The tall man scrunched his nose. "I'm just digging myself into a deeper and deeper whole, huh?"

"I like the foxes!" Keiichi exclaimed from behind them, grasping onto Hiei's hand and standing on his tiptoes, trying to get a decent view over the fence. "They're pretty."

Kurama chuckled at Kuwabara's aghast look. "Yes, Keiichi. They are very pretty."

Ayame ran through Kurama's legs and to her father, holding up her arms. "Can we go see the penguins now, Daddy?" She asked.

Kuwabara picked her up and settled her on his hip. "Sure thing, my little sweet thing. Let's go see the penguins."

She giggled and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

Yukina waddled over to them, much like the penguins they were about to go see, Amaya holding her hand. "We're ready," she told her husband.

Kuwabara nodded and started down the trail in the zoo, looking for signs along the path to direct them.

"I'm glad you could make it, Kurama," she said, coming up beside him as she walked. "It's great to get to spend time with you. I know the girls love it."

Amaya nodded from her mother's side. "I love my Uncle 'Rama," she announced.

Kurama smiled. "Thank for calling this morning to invite me."

She smiled back, sparing a glance at the fire demon who trailed behind them. "Anytime."

--

Hiei grunted as he walked along the trail in the zoo, trying not to glare at the turquoise haired girl who was walking in front of him and staring at him. Instead, he looked up at the trees along the path, and tried to spot something interesting.

And then he reminded himself where he was and who he was with, and gave up on the hope that he'd see anything interesting at all.

"It's okay, Amaya," he heard Keiichi say. Hiei looked down at the little boy on his left who was clutching on to his hand. "Uncle Hiei is awesome."

The little girl had left her mother's side and had stopped on the trail, staring up at him with wide red eyes.

Hiei raised an eyebrow at her.

Keiichi tugged on his hand and smiled brightly. "He reads me bedtime stories. And we eat cereal for dinner. And he watches Teletubbies with me. And he saved me from a worm! And we had a slumber party on the couch! Uncle Hiei is the best, Amaya. You don't need to be scared of him."

She blinked at him several times, before narrowing her brows in determination. With a visible setting of her shoulders, she held out a hand. "Hold my hand, Uncle Hiei?" She asked quietly.

He stared down at her, completely unhappy with the turn of events.

Keiichi tugged on his hand again and Hiei grunted. He reached out his right hand and Amaya smiled brightly. She took his hand and moved to his side, happily walking next to him on the zoo's trail.

Kurama turned his head and smiled at them. Hiei could only imagine (and completely loathe) the picture he must've made, walking in a zoo, with two half human children on each hand.

"Not a word, fox," he growled out.

Kurama just shook his head, the grin never leaving his face.

Hiei sighed, and reminded himself that Yusuke would be returning in just a matter of hours. And he was going to punish him. Severely.

--

After looking at penguins, lions, zebras, elephants, and howler monkeys, the group had decided to sit down and have some lunch. Kuwabara had chosen a little hot dog and hamburger stand along the trail that had a few picnic tables to sit at. The father had graciously offered to pay for everyone, and had ungraciously fallen to the ground when he had received the bill.

The children had laughed (and Hiei had snickered).

The three kids then started running around the picnic tables at breakneck speed, causing many of the other patrons to voice their annoyance loudly. Yukina had cringed and had done her best to gather the kids at one table, trying to get them to eat.

Kurama had just shaken his head with a grin. "They'll be out soon."

Yukina had sighed and whispered, "Fortunately," and Hiei had glared, unsure of what they were talking about, but determined not to let them catch on.

Unfortunately for him, not ten minutes later, he had found out. The children started, one by one, falling asleep where they sat. Ayame was already out cold in her father's arms, her head rested on his shoulder and her arms around his neck. Amaya was the next one, sleeping in much the same fashion in Kurama's arms.

Hiei looked at Keiichi, hoping that the little boy wouldn't succumb to slumber because there was no one left to carry him – certainly pregnant Yukina wouldn't. And even if she would, well, there was no way she would be allowed.

But the little boy's head kept nodding forward, his eyelids drooping closed.

Kurama caught Hiei's gaze and sent him a stern look. Hiei glared back, completely and totally unhappy with the situation – again.

Hiei decided that he hated the human zoo. Well, not a human zoo – where humans were kept in cages. No, that was an idea he filed away for later. Perhaps he could profit from that in the near future. But the zoo that humans used for entertainment, he hated _that_ with a passion.

Keiichi's head connected with the picnic table; the sound of snoring immediately followed.

Hiei sighed quietly, and with a scowl on his face, and promising himself that he would murder Yusuke Urameshi in just a few hours, he scooped the small boy up in his arms. Keiichi grabbed fistfuls of his cloak and buried his face in the crook of Hiei's neck.

Kuwabara grinned before nudging his wife's shoulder. "I think we should get home, babe. They're all out."

And for once, Hiei agreed with the oaf.

--

Yusuke shut his car door, pressing a button on his key to pop open the trunk. His wife got out of the car soon after, stretching her arms over her head and rising up on the balls of her feet.

"Man, it's good to be home," she said in a sigh.

He nodded and lifted the trunk all the way up. "Tell me about it, that traffic was-"

"PAPA!"

Yusuke barely had time to turn towards the voice before his son catapulted himself into his arms, burying his face into his chest and grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. "Papa! I missed you so much, Papa!"

Yusuke smiled and wrapped his arms around his son, pulling him flat against him and burying his nose in his hair. He inhaled deeply and felt all of his muscles relax. "I missed you too, little guy."

Keiko made a scoffing noise. "What am I, chopped liver?"

Keiichi laughed and pulled his face away from his father's chest. "Hi, Mama!" He said, reaching his arms out to her. "I missed you!"

Keiko took her son from her husband's arms and kissed him several times on his face. "I missed you too!"

Yusuke reached out a hand, ruffling his son's hair before kissing his wife's cheek. "It's good to be home."

Hiei cleared his throat, catching the family off guard in the driveway. The fire demon narrowed his red eyes at Yusuke. "Send them inside," He commanded.

The former spirit detective blinked. "Um."

"Send. Them. Inside," Hiei barked out.

Yusuke's eyes widened. "Maybe you guys should go inside," he said out of the side of his mouth to his wife.

She sighed and started walking towards the house. "We have neighbors, boys," she reminded them, "please behave, or I will call the police."

"Mama, what are Papa and Uncle Hiei going to do?" Keiichi asked as he was carried to the home.

She just sighed again and shook her head. "I don't want to know."

The door closed and Yusuke cleared his throat, briefly wondering why it got so hot in their yard all of a sudden.

He glanced at Hiei unsurely, wondering if perhaps he was the cause of the heat.

The fire demon had taken off his cloak and was clenching his hands into fists, his red eyes aflame. Yusuke nodded to himself, realizing quite quickly that Hiei was in fact the cause of the sudden heat.

"Uh, hey, buddy," Yusuke tried, holding up his hands in surrender. "Thanks for, you know, for all you did for us. You are really, a good friend."

Hiei's eyes narrowed, sparks practically flying.

"Probably my _best friend_," Yusuke continued, taking a cautious step backward. "My _best friend_ in _all three worlds_."

Hiei took a fighting stance, reaching for the sword strapped to his back.

Yusuke took another step away from the fire demon. "I – I love you, man. Please don't kill me."

Hiei growled, squatting down and preparing to launch; Yusuke turned around and bolted.

* * *

**A/N**: Well, how did you guys like Sunday? Monday (which is both the final day and the epilogue) is up next.

Please review, and let me know what you think!


	5. Monday

**Disclaimer**: Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to YT. And not me. And that kind of rhymed. A little.

**A/N**: Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted! You guys are the best. I do hope you enjoyed this little story of mine. ^_^

And a GIANT thank you to my dear, dear Jordan - who is ridiculously over worked and yet always there when I need her.

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Epilogue

_Monday_

"Stupid freaking fire demon," Yusuke muttered under his breath.

He should've realized something terrible was going to happen to him the night before, where, after first beating Yusuke to a pulp – Hiei fighting harder than Yusuke had ever seen the demon fight before – he had announced that he was staying over for one more night. Yusuke was confused, but too sore to question why Hiei wanted to stay with them for one more night.

That morning he was informed by Hiei that he still 'owed' him; because even though Hiei had won the 'fight' between them for the first time in the history of them knowing each other, it didn't count as the favor because Hiei hadn't specified that Yusuke fight against him at all. No, the demon had much more … terrible and humiliating plans in mind.

Apparently, the fire demon had gotten help from Keiko in his wicked scheme, if the way the two of them had been whispering together over cereal – or the way she had pointed and outright laughed – was any indication. Freaking wife.

"I can't hear you!" Hiei called from his perch in a nearby tree.

Yusuke rolled his shoulders and walked as confidently as he could down the middle of the road in his lime green Speedo, calf high black socks, and brown sandals. "Hear ye! Hear ye! Hiei is the greatest! Hiei is the most awesome! Hiei is better than me in every single way! I wish I was as strong as Hiei!"

--

Midori hummed to herself as she placed the books in the children's section back in order after a particular group of kindergarteners had so thoughtfully reorganized them, pausing briefly to push her glasses up her nose with her index finger. She enjoyed her life as a single in the city, and loved her job that dealt with books more than people. Books were easy to understand, self sustaining and always redeeming. People, on the other hand…

She shuddered a little as she remembered the god-awful date she had gone on with that Kurama person. Keiichi had called him 'Uncle.' She couldn't believe the Urameshi's could associate with such a man. And his short little friend! She was seriously questioning the cognitive abilities of Keiko and Yusuke Urameshi.

Somebody cleared their throat behind her. "Excuse me, Midori?"

_Ahh, speak of the devil._

Midori rose to her feet, holding several translated copies of Shel Silverstien's books in her hands. "Why, Mr. Urameshi, I was just thinking about your frie-"

Her eyes landed on Yusuke standing in the middle of the children's section, holding the two books that Keiichi and his infamous uncles had checked out of the library, clothed in nothing but a lime green Speedo, calf high black socks, and brown sandals.

Midori dropped Mr. Silverstien's books to the floor and let out an earth shattering scream.

Yusuke dropped the books he held and clasped his hands over his ears, visibly wincing at the noise.

"GET OUT!" Midori shouted, pointing towards the doors of the Tokyo's Public Library. "GET OUT YOU BIG SICKO! YOU AND YOUR CRAZY FRIENDS! GET OUT AND NEVER COME BACK! YOU ARE NEVER ALLOWED IN THIS BUILDING AGAIN! NOT YOU, NOT YOUR FRIENDS, NOT YOUR FAMILY! GET OUT _NOW_!!!"

Yusuke ran out of the building as fast as he could.

A crowd of people came running to see what the commotion was all about, but Midori didn't care to explain why there was a half naked man running out of the library in terrible footwear. She crumpled to the floor with her head in her hands, doing her best to calm her pounding heart.

Reaching a hand back to check the state of her bun (still intact, thank God) she let out a sigh. "How the heck did he even get in here wearing _that_, anyway?"

At that moment, the two security guards who should've stopped Mr. Urameshi before he entered without a shirt (or PANTS) came running up, their noses bloodied and their eyes blackened.

She glared at them and pushed her glasses up her nose once more. "Well. That explains that, I suppose."

--

When Yusuke ran out of the library he could hear Hiei laughing from a nearby tree, apparently being able to hear the librarian's screams of terror – but, really, he was certain everyone in Tokyo could hear her. Yusuke stopped running and glared up at the tree, looking even crazier to fellow citizens as they walked past for glaring up at a tree.

"Did you know she was going to freak out like that?" He asked, his arms crossing over his bare chest.

He could just make it out as Hiei shook his head. "No. But, I had hoped." Hiei lost himself to his laughter again and Yusuke huffed.

"She banished me and my family from the library, Hiei. Thanks a lot for that. My kid reads every night. Now where am I supposed to get him books?"

Hiei shrugged dismissively, and if Yusuke squinted, it looked like he was picking up tear gems from his lap. "Those books were ridiculous. I'm sure you'll be able to purchase more adequate ones."

"Che," Yusuke glared, "Do you know how crazy expensive those retarded books are? Like, twenty dollars! For a five page book about how dogs bark!"

"Quit your whining and get back to proclaiming my greatness, _Detective_." Hiei ordered, leaning back in the tree and putting his hands behind his head.

Yusuke scratched his temple, looking from Hiei back to the library building. "Something just doesn't add up here," he muttered to himself. "Why would you want me to hand those books back to Midori personally? I mean, I'm surprised you even remember her name … I know Keiichi adores her, man, that brat is gonna freak out now that he can't see her anymore." His brow furrowed.

"I can't hear you, Detective!" Hiei called out.

Yusuke tilted his furrowed face up to Hiei. "You _knew_ she'd react that way. You _knew_ we'd be banished. You did it on purpose!"

Hiei sat up in his perch, resting his palms on the branch in front of him. He glared down at Yusuke. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Yusuke pointed a finger and smiled broadly, many people on the sidewalk giving him a wide birth as they passed by. "You were jealous! You were jealous that Keiichi liked the librarian, so you made it so that he wouldn't see her anymore!"

Hiei's glare intensified tenfold. "You have no idea what you were talking about."

Yusuke doubled over from laughter. "Oh, man! You were jealous! That's priceless!"

The fire demon jumped down from his perch. He pushed Yusuke against the tree, wrapping his hand around his neck and completely immobilizing him; not that Yusuke seemed to notice, laughing so hard he was crying. Hiei raised his other fist and held it near Yusuke's face, letting out a low growl.

"Do you want a repeat of last night?"

Yusuke shook his head and tried to hold up his hands in surrender. "No, no, listen! I think it's so funny cause I'm jealous of you!"

He tightened his grip on Yusuke's neck. "Explain."

"Keiichi idolizes you, man. When he found out you were gonna watch him while we were gone, it was practically all he talked about. You're his, 'cool uncle Hiei.' He has a play sword and he pretends to be _you_. Last night, when I hadn't seen him in days and was bleeding and in a desperate need of a pick-me-up from a four year old, he demanded that _you_ be the one to tuck him in, and completely blew _me_ off! I was jealous because my kid hero worships my ex-teammate, all the while you were jealous of some stupid librarian that doesn't even matter!"

"Hn." Hiei released his hold on Yusuke completely and took a step back. "I'm not jealous of the librarian."

Yusuke wiped the tears off his face and smirked. "Sure."

"Being jealous of the librarian implies I have some attachment for the boy," Hiei continued, ignoring his former teammate's smirk, "which, I assure you, I have none."

Yusuke nodded. "Whatever you say."

Hiei snarled and jumped back into the tree. "Get back to proclaiming my greatness, detective."

The former spirit detective rolled his eyes. "Fine," he muttered angrily, walking out into the middle of the street. "Hiei is the greatest!"

--

A cold, night breeze wafting in from the window stirred Keiichi from his sleep. He furrowed his brow and drew his stuffed T-Rex closer to him, trying to block out the cold wind. With a sniffle, he wiped off the dried tears from his face and rolled over in his bed, slowly blinking his eyes open.

"Hey, kid."

Keiichi's eyes widened and he rubbed his nose. "Uncle Hiei?"

The fire demon nodded from his seat on the window sill, one leg bent and his elbow resting on his knee.

Keiichi smiled brightly and sat up in his bed, stuffed T-Rex forgotten. "I thought you left!"

"I'm leaving soon," Hiei answered, turning his face to look out the open window.

Keiichi sniffled again and pushed the blankets off his body. He dangled his legs off the side of his bed. "Will you be gone for a long time?"

He shrugged a single shoulder.

"Do you," Keiichi wiped his nose with his forearm, "do you think she would like me?"

Hiei moved his head to look at Keiichi curiously.

"Mukuro, I mean. Mama says that you," he fiddled with the sleeves of his dinosaur pajamas, "Mama says that you love her and if she's special to you than I want her to like me too."

Hiei rested his head against the wall, his eyes never leaving the young boy.

Keiichi swung his feet back and forth, the palms of his hands resting against the mattress behind him. "Would you ever bring her here? To meet me, Uncle Hiei?"

He raised an eyebrow. "She's busy, kid."

Keiiki nodded and hung his head. "But do you … do you think she would like me?"

The fire demon studied the boy for a moment, the expression on his face impassive, but a thoughtful and faraway look in his red eyes. "Typically Mukuro likes the things that I like."

When Keiichi raised his head it was with a soft smile on his face, the meaning of the words not lost on the small boy. He pushed himself off the bed, his bare feet padding on the blue carpet, and walked towards his adopted uncle. Without an invitation, he wrapped his arms around Hiei's waist and rested his head on his outer thigh.

"Will you be back to visit soon, Uncle Hiei?" was his muffled question.

Hiei's eyes widened as he looked down at the small boy attached to him. With visible hesitation, he raised a hand and rested it on the top of the boy's head. "Eventually," he answered, obviously unsure as to what to do with his hand now that it was on the top of the boy's head.

Keiichi smiled against Hiei's cloak. "I'm glad."

* * *

The End.

:) Hope you liked it!


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